Guardiola is apparently already lurking
Confusion about Gündoğan’s role at Flick’s FC Barcelona
İlkay Gündoğan no longer plays for Germany. The question now is what will happen to the midfielder at club level. According to media reports, Barça wants to get rid of him.
A comeback by İlkay Gündoğan at Manchester City does not seem to be out of the question. City coach Pep Guardiola has already “approved” the return of the former German national team captain, writes transfer expert Fabrizio Romano on the internet platform X. According to consistent media reports, FC Barcelona wants to sell Gündoğan in the summer transfer window.
According to reports, Guardiola wants the 33-year-old midfielder back in his team. The first contact with Gündoğan's side was made on Monday and talks are ongoing. The decision now lies with the player, as he also has offers from Saudi Arabia, writes Romano. Gündoğan won the English championship five times and the Champions League once with Manchester in seven years.
Sky had previously reported that Barça had clearly informed Gündoğan, who had resigned from the DFB selection on Monday, that he should leave in this transfer window. According to the Madrid-based trade paper “AS”, Flick told sporting director Deco that Gündoğan did not fit into his game plan. However, Flick's most recent statements do not suggest this. The coach had initially explained that he valued Gündoğan very much. He had the feeling that he would stay. Flick had appointed the midfielder captain during their time together at the DFB.
According to information from the Catalan trade newspaper “Sport”, the traditional club wants to try to “get some money for the transfer”. The Catalans are said to have offered Gündoğan to Cristiano Ronaldo's club Al-Nassr. Gündoğan's advisor and uncle Ilhan had stated on August 8 that although there was interest from some clubs, his nephew wanted to stay at Barça. The contract of the Gelsenkirchen native runs until summer 2026, after he only came from Manchester City on a free transfer in 2023.
